Nevada Archives

Casino History Casino: Financings: Teamsters Pension Fund Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: Jai Alai Governing / Regulatory Bodies: National Labor Relations Board Governing / Regulatory Bodies: U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service It Really Happened MGM Grand Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) MGM Grand Hotel (Reno, NV) Nevada Sin City United States

MGM Grand’s Gamble on Jai Alai

1974-1983 A revolt of the performers — athletes in this case — threatened to close a popular attraction at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas — jai alai. Unique to the Strip at the…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Guys and Dolls musical Liberace Mario Lanza Nevada Quick Facts Sin City United States Vivian Blaine

Quick Fact – Off, Off, Off Broadway

1955 At least 10 hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip offered entertainment, typically marquee names like Liberace and Mario Lanza, who’d played Sin City time and again. The Royal Nevada, though, changed it up with a…

Carson City--Nevada Casino History Creators / Manufacturers Elko--Nevada Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: Creators / Manufacturers: Nevada Electronics Inc. Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission Hawthorne--Nevada It Really Happened Nevada Wells--Nevada

Money-Making Casino Ploy

1966 Suddenly, in the fall, the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) directed 41-plus casinos to cease operation of specific electronic blackjack machines because they were “experiencing difficulties when played so as to render the devices more…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts Raymond A. Smith

Quick Fact – Mice and Men

1936 Soon after Harolds Club opened in Reno, the main attraction, for only about a week, was mouse roulette, “where customers bet their small change on what color or number a scampering rodent would choose…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Incline Village--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts Restaurants / Chefs: Denny's Restaurants Inc. United States

Quick Fact – Diners and Casinos?

1968-1969 Can you imagine if Denny’s was in Nevada’s casino business? Well, it nearly happened. In 1968 Denny’s Restaurants, Inc. had reached an agreement to acquire Caesars Palace in Las Vegas but didn’t go through…

Casino History Chico Marx Commercial Hotel/Monte Carlo Casino (Elko, NV) Did You Know? Elko--Nevada Entertainment Gambling History Gaming History Lawrence Welk Nevada Newton Crumley Paul Whiteman Quick Facts Sophie Tucker Ted Lewis The Andrews Sisters United States

Quick Fact – Casino Trendsetter

1941 Nevada casinos are known for their big-name entertainment, and it all started in the city of Elko. In spring 1941, Newton Crumley, the owner of the Commercial Hotel and its Monte Carlo Casino, engaged…

Did You Know? Gambling: Debt Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Internal Revenue Service Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – Accounting Shift

1964 The Dunes in Las Vegas, Nevada switched from writing off unpaid IOUs to claiming them as income, allegedly to keep Internal Revenue Service agents from harassing its customers — asking guests in the hotel…

Castaways (Las Vegas, NV) Did You Know? Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission Howard Hughes Law Enforcement / Judicial System: U.S. Department of Justice Laws: U.S. Sherman Anti-Trust Act Nevada Quick Facts Silver Slipper (Las Vegas, NV) United States

Quick Fact – Road to Monopoly?

1968 Howard Hughes, billionaire industrialist, received the Nevada Gaming Commission’s blessing to buy the Stardust hotel-casino in Las Vegas for $30.5 million and moved forward with the acquisition. He already owned five such properties on…

Desert Inn (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling Laws / Regulations: Nevada's Black Book / Excluded Person List Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board It Really Happened Louis Tom Dragna Nevada

Nevada’s Black Book: Civil Rights Violation?

1960-1967 Los Angeles mobsters, Louis Tom Dragna and John “The Bat” Battaglia, conversed in a hotel-casino cocktail lounge on the Las Vegas Strip one day in February 1960. But their visit was cut short when…